BJSS Birmingham: Growing skills and delivering tech excellence in the West Midlands
Guest blog by Chris May, Chief Engineer at BJSS #StrongerTechEconomies #Midlands
Research by TechWM suggests that the tech sector in the West Midlands is generating £15bn to the wider regional economy and job market, and is in fact the largest UK tech sector outside of London with over 144,000 people working in tech roles across 2,400 businesses.
Technology and software engineering consultancy BJSS has one of its 26 global offices located in the heart of Birmingham. The West Midlands based office has grown from over a dozen tech specialists to an office of over 100 skilled professionals over the last five years, providing jobs to the tech enthusiasts of the West Midlands and delivering several projects regionally and beyond, across the energy, public sector and gaming industries.
Giving back to the local tech community is also a key activity in the BJSS Birmingham office with regular community engagement enabling further strengthening of the tech sector across the region. The Birmingham office hosts and supports a wide range of tech-focused meetups in collaboration with group organisers on weeknights.
These meetups have included:
Golang Birmingham: A monthly Go programming meet for those wishing to expand their network, connect with fellow Golang professionals and learn about the latest tools, best practices, and innovations in the industry.
Birmingham .NET/Maui User Group: A monthly meet on weeknights for developers interested in or involved with .Net, C#, Azure, MAUI or Xamarin Mobile Development.
Coffee Ops: A monthly meet on weekday mornings for casual coffee and conversation to discuss dev-ops, human-ops, leadership, automation, metrics, infrastructure as code, and all the other things that make development fascinating.
Agile West Midlands: Committed agile professionals come together monthly on weeknights to share best practice and encourage the adoption of agile – including agile games nights.
Women in Tech Birmingham: A monthly meetup on weeknights aimed at challenging STEM stereotypes, gender equality as well as supporting, empowering and promoting women in the tech industry.
Closing the tech talent gap is often a discussion point across the industry, coming together through meetups not only fosters a strong sense of community, but it helps people at all levels of their careers connect with like-minded professionals, developers, engineers, delivery leads, and tech enthusiasts to share knowledge, discuss trends, and grow their tech talent.
In addition to meetups, the BJSS Birmingham team plays an active role in regional technology activity by attending and speaking at local conferences and events to share knowledge, discuss emerging trends, and build connections with other industry peers and leaders.
By engaging with these events, BJSS among many other companies help raise the profile of the West Midlands technology sector, attracting new talent and investment to the area, while sharing valuable experience and insights to build up the existing local talent.
One of the final highlights and success stories out of BJSS Birmingham comes through the School of Code, a coding bootcamp that provides alternative routes into tech careers.
BJSS employs a number of School of Code graduates, and in turn several members of the Birmingham office mentor School of Code attendees, helping to diversify the talent pipeline for people of all backgrounds, skillsets and knowledge to find a place in the technology sector.
It’s essential to BJSS and all regional offices, such as the Birmingham office, to continue building bridges across business, education, and community with the initiatives and activities featured.
Through the combination of local talent, knowledge sharing through meetups, events and mentoring, the tech sector in the West Midlands can continually thrive through and remain a regional hub of innovation in the years to come.
West Midlands Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the West Midlands Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
techUK champions the tech sector throughout the UK. We work with local authorities, devolved government, and local and national policy makers to advocate for the tech sector in strengthening economic growth and resilience across the nations and regions. Visit the programme page here
Local Digital Index 2024
Read our analysis of digital ecosystems across the UK in 2024.
Scotland Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the Scotland Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
Great Manchester Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the Greater Manchester Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
West Midlands Impact Day: Celebrating Tech and Digital Innovation
Welcome to the West Midlands Impact Day, where we proudly showcase a diverse collection of articles and videos highlighting the transformative power of technology and innovation.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Matt is leading techUK’s work with members and stakeholders across the UK to increase the Local Digital Capital across the UK’s nation and regions, build communities and to ensure that digital technology plays a key part the post-COVID-19 levelling-up recovery.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked for several national education charities and membership bodies to develop their regional partnerships with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and other stakeholders. He’s also worked with local authority leaders and other stakeholders to engage communities, work with elected members and improve public services.
He holds a BA in Politics from the University of York and an MA in International Relations from the University of Leeds. Away from work he’s a keen football fan and golfer.
If you’d like to find out more about our work in the nations and regions please get in touch with Matt:
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa is the Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, at techUK.
Ileana studied electronics, telecommunications and IT as an undergraduate, followed by an MSc in engineering and project management at Coventry University.
She refined her programme management expertise through her most recent roles working in the automotive industry.
Ileana is passionate about sustainability and creating a positive impact globally through innovation.
Programme Manager, Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie Barr
Programme Manager, Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions, techUK
Stephanie is the Programme Manager for Small Business Engagement and Nations & Regions at techUK.
Working across the two programmes, Stephanie develops activities to support the growth and development of tech SMEs and engages with members and stakeholders more broadly to help strengthen regional tech economies.
Prior to joining techUK, Stephanie worked for a political events company and as a Senior Caseworker for an MP. She holds an MA (HONS) in Politics from the University of Glasgow.
Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys travelling, climbing and playing squash.
Tracy supports several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Cyber Security, Defence, Health and Social Care, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.
Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!
Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!
